[PDF] Java bytecode verification and its applications - Patinage Artistique

What is bytecode verification?

Bytecode verification is a crucial security component for Java applets, on the Web and on embedded devices such as smart cards. This paper describes the main bytecode verification algorithms and surveys the variety of formal methods that have been applied to bytecode verification in order to establish its correctness.

Why is Java bytecode interpreted?

There may be many code paths you don't actually follow, especially when libraries come into question. Java Bytecode is interpreted because bytecodes are portable across various platforms.JVM, which is platform dependent,converts and executes bytecodes to specific instruction set of that machine whether it may be a Windows or LINUX or MAC etc...

What is JVM bytecode verification?

The bytecode verification algorithm for the JVM has been developed at Sun by Gosling and Yellin. It is based on a dataflow analysis performed by an abstract interpreter that executes JVM instruction over types instead of values. This verification is done at loading time that allows the interpreter to be executed without checks safely.